# Recording to hard disk from audio tape **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771 "2001-05-28T13:06:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shunick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@Shunick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shunick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/1 "2001-05-28T13:06:56Z")
How can I record a song from my tape deck to my hard drive and what file extension do I save it to? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/2 "2001-05-28T15:15:42Z")
try: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=72209](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=72209) and [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=66696](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=66696) the search function is our friend 😉 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/3 "2001-05-28T15:35:19Z")
Assuming you have audio outputs from your PC chose the **line level** output (not speaker level if you have both line level and speaker level outputs). Plug a cable with a 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug at one end and two RCA phono (L+R) jacks at the other (about $5-$7 at Radio Shack). If the cable is too short (they come in 3 and 6 foot lengths) to reach from your tape deck to your PC get a 1/8 inch - 20 foot male to female stereo headphone extension cord )Radio Shack about $7) and extend the mini-lug to pnono jack cable if necessary. So you will plug the 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug into your line level audio out jack on the PC and the L+R phono plugs into the input side jacks on the back of your tape deck or receiver depending on how you have it hooked up. After you’ve now made the connection you simply make a few test recordings while adjusting the PC audio intput levels and the tape deck output levels for the cleanest signal and record away. With respect to software your choices are to use either the windows system built in sound recorder applet or if you have a Sound Blaster or other name brand audio card they typically bundle a nice set of sound recording, mixing and playback applets. You can also buy stand alone sound mixing and recording programs that are more powerful than the aforesaid apps but they are not free. You will probably have the greatest intial flexibility if you save the sound file as a wav file. These are quite large and you can always compress them to mp3s via MP3 recorder programs like MusicMatch etc. later if you desire. ---
**Author:** ![zub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a6a055/32.png) [@zub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zub)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/4 "2001-05-28T15:45:02Z")
dont listen to his crap just get musicmatch jukebox crack it next get a cable with 2 mone jacks at one end and a stereo jack at the other connect your deck to the line in socket on the soundcard now adjust the recording settings in jukebox hit play press record and you can thus convert tape to mp3 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/5 "2001-05-28T15:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Assuming you have audio outputs from your PC chose the **line level** output (not speaker level if you have both line level and speaker level outputs). > > Plug a cable with a 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug at one end and two RCA phono (L+R) jacks at the other (about $5-$7 at Radio Shack). If the cable is too short (they come in 3 and 6 foot lengths) to reach from your tape deck to your PC get a 1/8 inch - 20 foot male to female stereo headphone extension cord )Radio Shack about $7) and extend the mini-lug to pnono jack cable if necessary. > > So you will plug the 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug into your line level audio out jack on the PC and the L+R phono plugs into the input side jacks on the back of your tape deck or receiver depending on how you have it hooked up. > > After you’ve now made the connection you simply make a few test recordings while adjusting the PC audio intput levels and the tape deck output levels for the cleanest signal and record away. > > With respect to software your choices are to use either the windows system built in sound recorder applet or if you have a Sound Blaster or other name brand audio card they typically bundle a nice set of sound recording, mixing and playback applets. You can also buy stand alone sound mixing and recording programs that are more powerful than the aforesaid apps but they are not free. You will probably have the greatest intial flexibility if you save the sound file as a wav file. These are quite large and you can always compress them to mp3s via MP3 recorder programs like MusicMatch etc. later if you desire. > \*\* Lets try that again. Thought you were going the other way initally. Assuming you have microphone and line level audio inputs into your PC chose the **line level** intput (not the mike level) If you only have a mic input you can try it but sound will possibly be overdriven and messy in some cases. You can get an 1/8 M/F inch stereo attenuator plug at radio shack to take the tape deck line output levels down to mike input levels but this also involves a loss of fidelity. Assuming a line level input is available get a cable with a 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug at one end and two RCA phono (L+R) jacks at the other (about $5-$7 at Radio Shack). If the cable is too short (they come in 3 and 6 foot lengths) to reach from your tape deck to your PC get a 1/8 inch - 20 foot male to female stereo headphone extension cord )Radio Shack about $7) and extend the mini-lug to phono jack cable if necessary. So you will plug the 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug into your line level audio in jack on the PC and the L+R phono plugs into the output side jacks on the back of your tape deck or receiver depending on how you have it hooked up. After you’ve made the connection you simply make a few test recordings while adjusting the PC audio input levels and the tape deck output levels for the cleanest signal and record away. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/6 "2001-05-28T17:13:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zub \* > \*\*dont listen to his crap > just get musicmatch jukebox > crack it > next get a cable with 2 mone jacks at one end and a stereo jack at the other > connect your deck to the line in socket on the soundcard > now adjust the recording settings in jukebox > hit play > press record > and you can thus convert tape to mp3 \*\* Irrespective of what you think about other’s advice encouraging someone to “crack it” and break software version/copy protection in order to get a nice one step mp3 conversion is not the most appropriate thing to do. I don’t know about copyright standards in Bombay but it’s ummmm… illegal here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Shunick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@Shunick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shunick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/7 "2001-05-28T18:02:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by k2dave \* > \*\*try: > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=72209](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=72209) > and > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=66696](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=66696) > > the search function is our friend > 😉 \*\* I’ll give those suggestions on the referred pages a try. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/8 "2001-05-29T01:14:24Z")
Zub, besides what astro already said, I find yout tone quite rude. Being a newbie around here you would do well in showing a little respect. Both the substance and the form of your post are objectionable. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-to-hard-disk-from-audio-tape/66771/9 "2001-05-29T03:56:37Z")
The only reason I didn’t delete Zub’s post outright is that people have responded to it and it would look weird otherwise. But Zub, we don’t play that here. And you had best figure that out real quick or you won’t be here very long. your humble TubaDiva Administrator